Managed to get the clutch release lever out of the GTZ transmission. The upper bearing appears to be worn out and the ends of the lever look rough.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 02-13-2022).]

Success. I removed the lower bearing from the transmission.



The FSM calls for using a special tool to screw into the bearing then using a slide hammer to pull it out. I didn’t have the special tool so I improvised with a long bolt I found in my stash.



It would not come out, so I used the Dremel to grind a slot in one side and then drove a screw driver underneath the edge. Finally it slid out.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 02-20-2022).]

The replace clutch release fork arrived on Friday and it’s a perfect match. I ordered it from GMPartsGiant.com.



Unfortunately, that site doesn’t have the needle bearings anymore. A Tulsa bearing dealer can get them for me but I wanted to wait until the fork arrived to make sure it was the correct one.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 03-20-2022).]

Finally got the new bearings for the clutch fork. Chinese bearings were the only type I could find.



They’re not identical, but they’re close enough.



An old spark plug socket worked great as an installation tool.



Next up was figuring out what to do about the retainer clip for the throw out bearing. Half of it was gone and the remaining half was lying at the bottom of the bell housing.



I was about to bolt the transmission to the engine without it, when I decided to check the factory service manual. Sure enough, there’s a good drawing of it.



Took me half an hour to make a replacement.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 03-19-2022).]

Bolted on and torqued the flywheel, then aligned the clutch disk and bolted on the pressure plate, then bolted the transmission to the block.



While bolting the mounting brackets to the transmission, this happened:



I was pretty bummed, but after looking at the photo I think I can just drill the hole deeper and tap some more threads.

I also realized I forgot to torque the pressure plate bolts, so the transmission will have to come off tomorrow.

I epoxied the broken piece back on, then decided to fill in the hole and re-tap it.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 03-27-2022).]

Got the engine and transmission mounted on the cradle today, AFTER working on the steering rack on my son’s Grand Prix. One of the mounting flanges broke, less than a year after we installed the replacement rack on the car.

Anyway, pictures tell the story.





It’s possible to mount the Quad on the cradle so that it has enough clearance from the cradle itself as well as fitting under the deck lid WITHOUT modification.





This is why cutting out the forward exhaust hump and replacing it with a straight piece of tubing is important. Makes clearance for the AC compressor and the coolant tube off the water pump.



My homemade mounts seem to work well.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 03-27-2022).]

Still a lot of work to do. I never cleaned the throttle body after removing if from the GTZ 10 years ago. I also need to buy all new hoses, including vacuum and the preformed ones for the oil separator.

Also have to figure out the fuel lines, since the Quad’s are on the back of the engine. Years ago I bought a muffler from a V6 Fiero in the salvage, so I’ll have to fabricate the pipe to mate it to the Quad’s down pipe.





Of course, after getting all these items squared away, I won’t be able to avoid having to dig into the wiring harness.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 03-27-2022).]

Saw this on Facebook and it really hit home.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 04-10-2022).]

More progress on the exhaust system. It took some wrestling but we got the V6 muffler and exhaust pipes to hang on the springs on the engine cradle. I bought some universal hangers from NAPA, but then decided I needed to put the engine and cradle in the car in order to properly fit the exhaust system.



That caused me to pause for a few minutes to admire how well the Quad fits in its new home.







Hard to tell from this shot but it confirms the stock radiator hose will fit on the Quad’s thermostat housing.

[This message has been edited by Quadfather (edited 04-10-2022).]